Tshekedi Khama
The Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism in conjunction with Ministry of Health will launch the Situational Analysis and Needs Assessments Report.
The launch will take place on the 10th July 2013 at Pavilion, Fairgrounds Holdings at 1800 hours. The guests will include the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama, Minister of Health, Dr. Rev. John Seakgosing as well as other ministers from the African region.
The report is a follow up to African ministers of health and ministers of environment commitment, through the Libreville Declaration in August 2008, to establish a strategic alliance between health and environment as a basis for joint plans of action. “It was recognised that intensified collaboration between the two sectors and other partners was the most effective and sustainable means to address problems related to environment and their interaction with health,” the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism said.
“The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme convened the Second Inter‐Ministerial Conference in an effort to sustain the political commitment made at the Libreville Conference on enhanced inter-sectoral actions and co-benefits for human health and the environment in support of sustainable development”.
The ministers further committed themselves to undertake a number of actions, including, completing Situation Analyses and Needs Assessments in all African countries and the preparation of National Plans of Joint Action; strengthening and ensuring the continued functioning of the Health and Environment Strategic Alliance (HESA) and resource mobilization and capacity building.
The Health and Strategic Alliance to implement the Libreville Declaration has been established at the national level. The aim of the alliance is to develop and coordinate actions by the health and environment sectors within the development planning processes, in order to effectively value and utilise health and environment linkages. This alliance is jointly coordinated by officials from Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism and World Health Organisation.
A Country Coordination Committee has also been formed to serve as the Secretariat for the HESA. The Committee is responsible for the preparation, monitoring and evaluation of the National Plan of Joint Action.
A final SANA report has now been compiled and submitted to the Minister of Health and Minister of Environment Wildlife and Tourism for endorsement. The next phase of the implementation process is preparation of the National Plans of Joint Action.
The objectives of the SANA Report are to assess the progress made by country in the implementation of the Libreville Declaration; identify country level actions required to accelerate the implementation of the Libreville Declaration; recommend the country’s health and environment priorities for accelerated investments with a view to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.